


Wanting is Not a Crime

by stelliums



Category: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Naminé/Riku/Kairi, Sexual Content, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:09:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25152166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelliums/pseuds/stelliums
Summary: On a break from his on-off partner, Vanitas, Ventus meets Sora in the hotel that he had initially booked a date in. Vanitas tries to make it up to Ven with an... interesting birthday present.
Relationships: Sora/Vanitas/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Sora/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

The hotel bar was full that evening. Couples, groups of friends, single people awaiting dates. Jazz music played through the speakers. It was a romantic evening, he had to admit. Ventus ran a hand through his hair and laughed to himself. What was he doing here?

He thought he saw a familiar face and froze. What was _he_ doing here? He glanced at his phone. Vanitas wouldn’t show up to their planned date after their fight that morning. He would storm off, hook up with some stranger to cool himself off then return home to him. Meanwhile, Ven would sit at home and wonder where he had gone wrong this time. That had been their pattern for years.

Upon a closer look at the figure that stood close by, he realised that it wasn’t Vanitas at all. This man was shorter, with chestnut hair and bright blue eyes that shone in the dim lights of the hotel bar. Their hairstyles were similar; perhaps that was why he had confused the stranger with his ex. Vanitas could spend hours in front of the bathroom mirror with hair gel in his hand to ensure that not a single hair was out of place. Meanwhile the stranger’s look was effortless, natural, as though he had hardly dragged a brush through his hair after rolling out of bed. Another feature that distinguished him from Vanitas was his smile while he talked, hands moving in an animated motion, to his small group of friends. Vanitas hardly smiled so naturally, not even around him. Sometimes he had wondered if Vanitas enjoyed his presence outside of the bedroom, or elaborate dates that led to a night in a hotel room.

The stranger noticed Ventus’s eyes on him and waved to him. His friends acknowledged him too; a bubbly-looking girl in a floral dress waved and another girl, a blonde, offered him a shy smile while the taller man with silver hair only glanced in his general direction. The attention only made him want to leave, or sink so far into his chair that no one could see him. Ven took a long sip of his drink. He hadn’t gone to the hotel to make friends.

“Hey. You probably won’t like me saying this, but you look kinda lonely. Want to join me instead?” Ventus looked up at the person that had cast their shadow over the table. It was the stranger, holding his hand out to him. “I’m with some friends from out of town, but they won’t mind! I’m Sora.”

Sora. The name fit the man in front of him like a glove. His grin was as sunny and bright as the sky on a summer’s day. His gaze drifted over to his group of friends. They seemed friendly enough, but if they were from out of town he couldn’t be so impolite to intrude on them. Sora watched him expectantly, awaiting an answer.

Ven shook his hand. “Ventus, but call me Ven. I had a room booked for tonight, but who knows if I’ll actually be using it. Blame my ex.” He could sleep there for the night and give Vanitas the impression that he was giving him a taste of his own medicine. It would be a waste of money to not use the room they had booked at all.

“I bet there’s _some_ way you can get your money’s worth.” Sora kept a firm grip on his hand and used it to pull him up from his seat. If he hadn’t been speaking with a stranger, Ventus could imagine his comment being punctuated with a wink. But Sora was still a stranger, a particularly friendly stranger with unknown motives. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.” He leaned in closer to him and added, “We don’t have to be here for long, if you don’t want to be here.”

“Uh... Thanks?”

Ven’s reply was left unanswered as Sora squeezed his hand and led him over to his friends. He listened as he introduced each of them to him and learned that their names were Kairi, Naminé and Riku. Each of them offered a greeting after he had told them his name. Apparently none of the group, even Sora, lived in the area, and the hotel acted as a halfway point between Naminé and the other three. Naminé, the pale girl that had appeared less confident than her friends, shuffled her feet as Sora introduced her. It was her first time at the hotel, so it was natural for her to feel out of place. Or that was how Sora had explained it to him in hushed tones.

Kairi placed her drink down against the table. The thud of glass against wood managed to gain the attention of everyone in their little corner of the bar. “So! Sleeping arrangements for tonight. I’m with Nami. Riku booked a single, since the three-person rooms suck, so... Sora?” The mention of his name made Sora pay attention. Kairi carried on, sheepishly pushing a strand of crimson hair behind her ear. “You don’t mind sleeping on the floor, or a sofa, or... something, right?”

“Don’t worry, I have plans. Ven offered to let me stay in his room for the night.” He announced. Ventus opened his mouth to protest. Sora murmured in his ear. “You booked a double, right?” Ven nodded. 

“I’m going to get some drinks.” Ventus stood up and took Sora with him to the other end of the bar. His own glass was too full to justify refilling it, but he would return with something to keep Sora’s friends from getting suspicious. “I didn’t agree to this! The people at the hotel know me... I have to stay there tonight or it’ll be a waste.” He hissed. “What were you expecting?”

Sora swivelled the liquid that remained in his glass before he finished it off and placed it on the side of the bar to be refilled. “...I don’t know, you’re here alone and have a room I can sleep in. You can leave as soon as you confirm you’re there. Please, my neck is still sore from when I last had to sleep on a sofa and Riku kicks me out of bed when I try to sleep with him.” He whined. “Separate ends of the bed, no touching if you’re not into that, promise!”

Ven failed to say no to those wide eyes that stared at him so earnestly. Sora had a form of persuasion that Vanitas wished he could master. “...Fine. Just to piss off my ex.” Turning the tables on Vanitas, regardless of whether anything happened between him and Sora, was satisfying. A decision that he would regret after Vanitas inevitably returned home, but still satisfying while it lasted.

“I owe you one.” Sora raised his glass and slid another glass over to Ventus. “To your shitty ex!” He clinked their glasses together and laughed.

His mind wandered again to where Vanitas was at that moment. In another hotel, or at home, with a man he would later say was better than him in bed during another inevitable argument. There would be more arguments, more fights, more broken furniture and more naïve men who believed that Vanitas was unattached. Their cycle was eternal. “To Vanitas.”

Sora drained the rest of his glass and stretched his arms above his head. “You know what? I’m beat. I’ll tell the others we’re leaving, you can ask them for the key.” He motioned his thumb towards the reception desk. “We’re going back to Naminé’s after this... going to have to wake up early.” He explained after being greeted with a raised eyebrow from Ventus. The announcement seemed rather sudden, and he had thought that his motivation for being there was to spend time with his friends.

“What about the–“

“The drinks? Their cups are full. I just wanted a refill.” Sora winked at him and went back over to his friend’s table. Ventus stayed to watch their reactions, although he should have been getting their room key. _Their_ room key. This was certainly not how he had been expecting to spend the night.

Ven managed to catch snippets of conversation over the general buzz of noise within the hotel. Kairi smiled sympathetically at Sora while Naminé yawned and rested on her shoulder. The two of them must be close, Ven noted. He felt Riku’s eyes on him before he had started to pay attention to him. But Riku still smiled at Sora and wished him goodnight, regardless of how he looked at him. Riku put his arm around Naminé’s shoulders and played with Kairi’s hair.

He waved goodbye to Sora’s friends. It was unlikely that he would see them again after that night, including Sora; they would return back home and he would do the same. Sora bounded back over to him and swung an arm around him to lead him away from the tables. “Sorry about them. They don’t get to see each other often... long-distance relationships are the worst.”

The woman at the reception desk, dressed in a crisp, clean uniform, smiled when she saw Ventus approach. “Room 360 this time, isn’t it?” That was correct – Vanitas had specified which room they had to stay in when they had booked the hotel. It was a room fit for two people, with a large bed and a balcony that overlooked the city. This time, though, he questioned whether he would be there to enjoy the view by morning.

Ven nodded affirmation and was handed the key. Sora held his hand while they climbed the stairs to the third floor, taking two steps at a time. His enthusiasm kept Ven from growing tired or slowing down. If he had, Sora would have dragged his weary body until they were stood in front of the door to their room.

“...Ven? You’re not just going to leave now, are you?” Sora asked once they were inside. He sat down on the bed and pressed his hands down to test the softness of the mattress. “Think of it as getting away from your ex!” His head landed against the pillows with a quiet thud.

While Sora was getting comfortable, Ventus stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, gazing out at the expansive view of the city at night. He wondered again what Vanitas was doing at that moment. Had he broken more furniture in their home that would have to be replaced? Was he regretting their argument? Had he found another body to warm his bed? Or was Vanitas, like him, wondering what he was doing without him?

Ven took himself into the bathroom and splashed water onto his face. His fingers frantically ran through his hair. Sora was right about one thing; while he was away from Vanitas, he should stop thinking about him as obsessively as he was. How mutual the obsession was between he and Vanitas was debatable. There was physical affection, certainly, but he was almost certain that he was the only one of them that lost sleep over their incessant fighting.

He shrugged off the shirt that he was wearing and discarded it on the floor. If the day had gone as planned, he would have been wearing a button-up, or something else that was more suited to the atmosphere of a romantic night at a hotel. The plain t-shirt was what he had been wearing when he had stalked off to get some space, away from Vanitas. Anger hadn’t left him with much time or reason to change clothes. Coming to the bar at all was a mistake — cancelling would have been as simple as a single phone call.

“Are you alright?” He heard Sora ask. His mind questioned how long he had been in the bathroom, if Sora had started to worry. Ven forced his lips to contort into a smile. Sora joined him in the bathroom. “...I think you need a distraction.”

A distraction from thoughts of Vanitas would calm his racing mind. He knew that the flatscreen television that hung on the wall opposite the bed had an array of movies for them to watch. “I probably could use one of those.”

Sora took his arm and dragged him back into the bedroom. Upon letting go, Ven fell back against the bed. A deep sigh of exhaustion left his lips. It had been a long day.

He managed to sit up a little before he recognised a shadow hovering over him. Sora’s face was closer than he had thought. His legs straddled his body while his arms slowly, teasingly, stripped away his shirt. The other man was slender, almost but not quite underweight. His body gave the impression that he would be an agile partner. His bright blue eyes were half-lidded and his face edged closer, to hold him captive against the wooden headboard of the bed.

Vanitas would know nothing if he closed the thinning gap between their lips and indulged his curiousities for a single night. He wouldn’t know, not unless he told him. Ven knew of all the times that he had spent the night with someone, hired someone, even, while they were ‘on a break’. Yet each time he knew of another body Vanitas may have known as well as his, he still hadn’t left him. If Vanitas knew, he would understand why he had sought the comfort of a man he had only met that evening.

Sora shifted the weight of his body closer to him. The movement made Ventus bite his lip. Rather than slowing his rapidly beating heart, Sora’s distraction caused it to hammer faster and faster in his chest. A gentle finger rubbed over his bitten lip before he licked off the bead of blood that had smeared against his skin. There was something like compassion in the motion as well as sensuality.

Ventus leaned upwards; their lips were barely an inch away from each other. Despite his racing mind, he smiled up at him and found out for himself how soft Sora’s lips truly were. His arms draped over his shoulders and traced along his back. He could feel the small indents of the freckles that covered his skin. This was far from now he imagined his evening to go. It was both infinitely better and infinitely worse than he had thought. Sora’s hands slipped down to Ven’s torso and made quick work of the buckle on his belt.

The sound of the belt sliding out of his jeans jolted Ven back to reality. He broke the kiss and murmured quietly to Sora, as though there was someone who would overhear them. “Don’t.” Silent, Sora left his belt where it was, half-hanging from Ven’s jeans. His arms slowly left Sora’s shoulders. Shame crept through his entire body as he noticed that even now, even when he was trying to pull away, his hands had taken the opportunity to savour his warm, bare skin.

“...Don’t?” Sora repeated. Ven only nodded and averted his eyes from him. If he stared into his eyes again, he feared that he wouldn’t stop them from pulling him in. He withdrew his hand from Ventus’s chest. “Just this, or–“

“I can’t. I _can’t_ , Sora. I shouldn’t be here, with you, alone.” He could see the disappointment in his eyes and feel the ache in his own chest but he knew that he would be unable to spend the night with him when every second thought was spent – some would say wasted – on Vanitas.

Sora withdrew from him to sit at the end of the bed. “That’s alright.” He offered him a smile while he moved and laid down beside him, underneath the covers while Ven remained on top of them. The lights dimmed when he reached across to turn one of the lamps off. “Night, then.”

He picked up his shirt and pulled it back on. “...I’m going to go.” Images of waking up with Sora beside him consumed him while his feet hit the carpet. Would they have moved closer together in the night and awaken tangled up together, or would Sora greet him with a hand against his cheek and a sleepy smile lit up by the morning sun? He shook his head. “Sora?”

“You don’t have to go. This bed is big enough for the both of us. No more touching, promise...” An arm reached out to him from the other end of the bed. “I’m sorry if I went too far, I really am. Can’t we just... act like that didn’t happen?”

Ven turned and stared at him while attempting to ignore the helpless look in his eyes. There could be worse things than waking up to that face, he thought, or holding onto him overnight, or, or, or- “No, I need to go. I don’t have a clear head, right now... we’ll do something we’ll regret.” He chuckled to himself to hide the miserable tears that shone in his eyes. “Sleep well, and safe journeys.” 

He left Sora there in the hotel room, sat on a bed designed for two people. The ache that filled his body for the touch of another was hard to ignore, although it was his fault that he was alone again that night. As he wandered back down the stairs towards the door, towards home, towards the ex who would be a boyfriend to him again soon, his thoughts were again filled with the face of a man with spiked, messy hair and an impossible way of capturing his attention. 


	2. Chapter 2

As he had so skilfully predicted, the cycle continued as it had for years. Ven had returned home before Vanitas, who had slammed the door open and staggered inside with a hangover and bite marks covering his skin. The following weeks were characterised by ice-cold silence between the two. They would sleep in different rooms, go to work and come home. It was as if they had lived alone. Whenever Ventus heard objects being flung at the wall between them or the sound of what had been _their_ bed creaking under the weight of multiple people, he covered his head with a pillow and wished that he did.

And each night, as if on a cue, his thoughts went back to Sora and the night that they had almost spent together. The mere thought of him made him heat up and regret leaving him alone in that hotel room. He kept reminding himself that even if he had gone along with Sora’s plan to piss off Vanitas, who Sora didn’t know, Ventus knew that sleeping with Sora wouldn’t break the cycle that he and Vanitas were trapped in. Get together, argue, break up, repeat. No wonder his friends kept encouraging him to see a couples’ therapist - Vanitas would never agree to it, unless the therapist was one that would let him indulge in his vices as much as Ven himself did. 

Ventus sat on the sofa downstairs, still in his pyjama shorts and a fluffy, white dressing gown that Aqua had gotten him for his birthday. It was early enough for the sun to peak above the horizon. He was half-asleep; little else could be expected from a man that hadn’t had an uninterrupted rest in days. Whether it was Vanitas in the room beside him or vivid dreams of a variety that Ven would be too embarrassed to describe, there was something to wake him up from what he hoped would be a peaceful night’s sleep.

“Morning, handsome.” Vanitas walked in, two cups of coffee in his hands. His compassion made him weary; was this an attempt to get back together with him, or did Vanitas want something? He managed to look hot, with his hair entirely free of the hair gel he insisted he needed and a black dressing gown hanging off of his body. He sucked in a breath. He had almost forgotten that Aqua had bought the two of them matching gifts that year. “Hey, why are you looking at me like that? Isn’t there something you’re forgetting?”

“...What is it this time, do you want money? An apology for something I apologised for weeks ago?” He failed to kerb the bitterness in his voice. Vanitas tilted his head to one side and sat down on the sofa next to him. He stretched out so that his head was on Ven’s lap and gazed up at him. Reluctantly, he ran his fingers through his jet-black hair. It was softer than Vanitas usually allowed it to be. Ven rolled his eyes. A smile twitched onto his lips. “...What is it, kitten...?” 

Vanitas blinked his eyes. His pupils appeared wider, like a cats’ when it had gotten into the catnip. “Would I really forget my boyfriend’s birthday? On that note... why would you forget your _own_ birthday? I wanted to celebrate with you this year, instead of you vanishing with Aqua and Terra like you do every other year...” He draped himself over him with no regard for personal space and brushed his lips over Ven’s cheek. “I promised, Ven. No bullshit from me on your birthday.”

“You forgot my birthday last year. And we weren’t together on my birthday when I ‘vanished’. You can’t blame me, for wanting to not spend time with my ex on my birthday.” Ven pointed out. If Vanitas wanted to pout and whine at him, two could play that game. The birthdays that he had spent with Vanitas were something that he count on one hand. He guessed that Vani sparked arguments sometime before his birthday to avoid getting him gifts. “...Speaking of, what ‘boyfriend’?”

The man that was currently straddled on top of him feigned shock. “Am I invisible? What am I to you, then? Some... has-been?! You wouldn’t call another man your ‘kitten’ would you?” Ventus’s mind immediately went to Sora. His hair had looked akin to cat ears that night, without any styling at all. He wondered if it was deliberate, to make him look cuter. “I’ll be your boyfriend again after I show you your present. But first, coffee.”

“What present is so good that it’ll make me come back?” He asked aloud, not expecting an answer. His coffee had been made strong enough to wake him up slightly. Ventus didn’t tend to take his coffee black but it was the best way to get him to wake up.

He pulled out his phone and shoved it in front of his face. Vanitas wore a smug grin, as if he was proud of what he was about to show him. The screen was too dark for Ventus to clearly see what the video was from a still image. “Watch this.” He pressed a finger to the screen and rested both of his arms on his shoulder.

The added weight should have been distracting but Ventus was unable to look away from the scene that played out in front of him. Despite the dim lighting, he could make out the faces of two men; Vanitas, who in the video was sat up on their bed, and Sora. Seeing the two together illuminated their subtle differences, although Ven still found them to be similar in appearance. He had a type, quite obviously. Vanitas made a beckoning motion with his hand. Sora crept towards him, his movements bringing attention to the curve of his back. The image conjured thoughts of his own hands tracing over Sora’s freckle-scattered skin. Vanitas smirked, his expression in the video mirroring that of the Vanitas that watched him with glinting eyes, and kissed Sora passionately.

“W-why are you showing me this?” Ventus asked, averting his eyes from the video as his face turned crimson. Was this a form of gloating, showing him exactly what he had missed out on? But he had been certain that Vanitas knew nothing about him and Sora. The faith he’d had to keep his guilt at bay, that as long as he said nothing, Vanitas would never find out, was broken the moment that he had seen Sora’s face reflected in the screen. 

Vanitas took his phone back and playfully poked his cheek. “You were enjoying that, don’t lie. Which part, though... me, or that pretty thing I was messing with?” When he stretched out across him again, Ven realised that Vanitas was wearing very little underneath his robe. “What was his name... Sora, was it? He came knocking on our door while you were at work, saying you’d left your hotel membership card with him and he wanted to... ahem... ‘thank you’.”

“I wasn’t going to be using the room we booked, so I let him sleep there. There was nothing between us, Vani, trust me.”

“You must’ve left in a rush. Cold feet?” 

His assumptions were uncomfortably close to the truth. Ven braced himself for incoming anger, another fight of many, but the only thing that he received was Vanitas’s lips on his. His eyes instinctively shut and he allowed himself to return his exes’ kiss. How long, he wondered, had Vanitas wanted to do that?

“That’s just like you. You know what, you’ve been good. You deserve your present now.” Vanitas finished his coffee and handed Ventus his own cup. The liquid inside was more lukewarm than hot. He had been told to drink it before he saw his present, though, so he sipped it as Vanitas led him upstairs. “Give me the cup! Now, close your eyes.”

Ven felt hands over his face after he had closed his eyes and laughed. “Is that really necessary? My eyes are closed!” He was shushed and he heard the sound of the door creaking open. They were in front of the master bedroom; Ven had taken to sleeping in the spare room when sleeping in the same bed as Vanitas felt unbearable after a day of arguing about the most insignificant things.

“Open your eyes. Happy birthday, honey.”

“Honey-? Vani, you never call me-” He and Vanitas did use pet names, often more than his partnered friends, but ‘honey’ had never been one of them. It was a petty thing to take note of, though, let alone during his own birthday. Ventus did as he was instructed and opened his eyes. 

In front of him was Sora. He was kneeled on the bed, a sign in his hand saying ‘happy birthday Ven!’. His mouth was covered by a strip of the same deep red, silky ribbon that covered the rest of his body. The shine in his eyes suggested that he wore a grin beneath it despite his compromising situation. Ven hadn’t seen him in almost a month; he thought that he had returned home, with his friends. He turned to Vanitas and then glanced back at Sora.

“Before you ask... I heard you calling his name in your sleep. Ven?” Ventus watched Sora squirm when Vanitas mentioned his dreams about him. He cursed the thin walls between them. On the other hand, it was one of the most thoughtful things that Vanitas had ever given him. “Looks like your gift is getting impatient... Want to unwrap him yourself, or would you like my help?”

Ventus shoved Vanitas jokingly. His on-and-off boyfriend kissed his lips one last time and smirked at him. He watched him leave and close the door behind him. Vanitas’s supposed lack of jealousy was no surprise when Ven considered that he’d been loose with the idea of fidelity ever since they had first decided to attempt a relationship. The situation was new to him, though; he approached Sora like a shy animal, although the other man was the one that was tied up. He used his thumb to push away the fabric covering Sora’s mouth and replaced it with his lips before he could say anything. 

“Missed me?” Sora purred. 

He looked beautiful, lit by the rays of early-morning sunlight. His body was artistically framed by Vanitas’s handiwork. It was a shame, almost, that it would all be undone within minutes. Ventus kissed him again while his nimble fingers undid the bow Vanitas had tied on Sora’s back. Once it was loosened, the rest of the ribbon started to slip off of his thighs and shoulders and onto the bedsheets. Sora tugged on the hem of his shorts until they were no longer attached to him. This was the morning that they should have had after that night, the morning that Ven had dreamed of and regretted in tandem despite what he desired only coming to fruition in that moment.


End file.
